Last month we posted a series of blog posts covering ‘What we do’, so following on we would like to break them down a little more and today lets talk digger and dumper training, and all things construction. We’ve got the HS2 coming up to the Northwest and lots of house building going on, so the construction sector of industry is very busy around here.
According to the HSE accident statistics for the construction industry, the reported incidents prior to the coronavirus pandemic, had been broadly flat. Which is good news. In 2020-21 the rate was not statistically significantly different to the 2018-19 pre-coronavirus level. However, the construction industry still remains third when compared to industries with similar work activities, Agriculture always has the highest number of fatalities and the Water supply industry.
In Construction there were:
• There were 39 fatal injuries to workers and 4 to members of the public in 2020-21
• An average of 36 fatalities to workers and 5 to members of the public each year over the last five years
• 50% of deaths over the same five year period were due to Falls from a height
As these figures highlight the danger on construction sites isn’t restricted to the staff and employee’s, the dangers extend to members of the public. In recent years there have been a number of new courses introduced for marshalling of vehicles. These training people are the extra set of eyes when large construction and road going vehicles are manouvering on-site.
And everyone operating a machine should be competent for the work they undertake. Training, along with knowledge, experience and skill, helps develop such competence. However, competence may (in some cases) necessarily include medical fitness and physical – mental aptitude for the activity.
What you must do
Employers must ‘ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for the purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using work equipment, and risks which such use may entail and the precautions to be taken.’ (PUWER regulation 9). There is a similar duty to ensure adequate training in relation to supervisory and managerial staff.
It is not possible to detail here what constitutes ‘adequate training’, as requirements will vary according to:
- the job or activity
- the existing competence of workers
- the circumstances of the work (eg degree of supervision)
- the work equipment etc
The training standard required should be adequate in ensuring the health and safety of your workers and any people who may be affected by the work, so far as reasonably practicable.
However, the general PUWER Approved Code of Practice and guidance specifically mentions two situations imposing minimum training obligations, in relation to:
Chainsaw operators:
All workers who use a chainsaw should be competent to do so. Before using a chainsaw to carry out work on or in a tree, a worker should have received appropriate training and obtained a relevant certificate of competence or national competence award, unless they are undergoing such training and are adequately supervised.
Driver training:
‘You should ensure that self-propelled work equipment, including any attachments or towed equipment, is only driven by workers who have received appropriate training in the safe driving of such work equipment.’
What you should know
General guidance on health and safety training is freely available from HSE. The duty to provide training under PUWER (regulation 9) builds upon the general obligation under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act and the additional requirements on capabilities and training, under regulation 13 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.
Training should take place during working hours and be at no cost to the employee. If it is necessary for training to take place outside the employee’s normal working hours, this should be treated as an extension of their time at work.
Who should you train?
Potential construction machine operators should be:
- reasonably fit, both physically and mentally, to safely control and operate the equipment, with the learning ability and potential to become competent operators;
- reliable, with a responsible attitude to their work;
- physically capable – you should assess this on an individual basis. You may need to get medical advice and make reasonable adjustments to enable some disabled people to work as lift-truck operators. The Equality Act 2010 is likely to apply;
- over the minimum school-leaving age (16), except in ports, where they must be at least 18 years old, unless they are undergoing a suitable course of training, properly supervised by a competent person.
How long should a basic training course last?
It is difficult to specify how long a course should last as there are many issues which affect the rate of learning. Every person is different and therefore our courses are tailored to the candidates individual needs. Each type of machinery has a different recommended duration, diggers take longer than dumpers for example.
Digger and Dumper Training
Our instructors continuously assess a trainee’s progress to ensure they achieve the required standards throughout the training duration. At the end of the course, the trainees will have undertaken a theory and practical assessment, to demonstrate that they have the necessary practical and theoretical knowledge and skills to operate lift trucks safely.
How often do I need to provide refresher training?
There is no specific time period after which you need to provide refresher training or formal assessment. However, the HSE recommends refresher training or testing every 3 to 5 years, or earlier if there is an accident, incident or long period of absence from operating a truck. This is the best way to make sure employees remain competent. Where you adopt this approach, you will still need to monitor performance, in case operators need extra training before the set period ends.
Experienced Worker Tests (EWT’s)
If you are an experienced plant operative but just need a machine test to get on site, NPORS have an EWT route for assessments. A lot of construction machinery has EWT’s options available, and this also means that courses can be combined on the day of testing – i.e. a digger usually works along side a dumper, so an experienced operator can take a test on both machines.
The course will still be conducted in the same manner as all NPORS assessments, but this will be just testing only and no novice tuition will be provided (as an EW you wont need it), so theory test and onto the practical assessments for tests to be undertaken.
Supervisor training
It is essential that supervisors have enough training and knowledge to recognise safe and unsafe practices. This does not mean they need full operator training, but they do need to understand the risks involved, and how to avoid or prevent them. It is good practice for Employers to offer training courses for supervisors and managers.
Supervisors should be able to:
- carry out an effective observation and know what to look for
- communicate effectively with operators and line managers
- recognise unsafe practice and behaviour
- maintain and promote health and safety standards
The course we offer is called N034 Plant Supervisor Awareness – an here is a link for more details.
Other Training
Even though today we are talking about digger and dumper training, we provide much more with over 100 different courses in our portfolio a full course brochure can be downloaded from this website – so have a look at what we do.
Our trained office staff are waiting to help you with any Lift Truck or other health and safety training requirements or questions regarding the courses we offer. Just click on this link for the ‘Get in Touch‘ option or give us a call on 01606 832 556.
The Kentra Training Team are waiting to help.
Other related blogs include:
N204 Official NPORS Forward Tipping Dumper Training
Forward Tipping Dumper – our A 2 Z of Safety Training
N204 Forward Tipping Dumper Course Details
N202 Official NPORS 360 Excavator Training
Excavator 360 – our A 2 Z of Safety Training
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